Prayve's Rare European Jazz

Tracklist:

1. The Jef Gilson Nonet - Ouverture, 1966
2. Nathan Davis - Carmell's Black Forest Waltz, 1966
3. Joki Freund - The Caribean Ringo, 1963
4. Georges Arvanitas Trio - Black And White, 1960s
5. Giorgio Azzolini - So What, 1960
6. Gunter Hampel - Heartplants, 1965
7. Carl Drevo & Die Clarke Boland Big Band - By Strauss, 1966
8. Sahib Shihab & The Danish Radio Group - Dance Of The Fakowees, 1965
9. The Don Rendell/Ian Carr Quintet - Tan Samfu, 1966
10. Bent Jädig - B's Waltz, 1967
11. Roland Kovac Orchestra - Blue Dance, 1964
12. Dusko Gojkovic - Got No Money, 1975
13. Quartetto Di Lucca - Estate '61, 1961
14. Barney Wilen & Mal Waldron Trio - Autumn Leaves, 1989
15. Sestetto Basso-Valdambrini - Monotonia, 1962
16. The Tubby Hayes Quintet - Down In The Village, 1962
17. Marion Brown - Boat Rock, 1968

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Prayve's Modal & Spiritual Jazz

This new compilation blends two of my favorite jazz currents together with a selection of very very heavy tracks, which I hope you will find both enchanting and inspiring.

The melodies on these are soaked with influences from over the world, while retaining a real street credibility, and will undoubtedly pleasure the ear of those least familiar to this type of music and the most regarding jazz enthusiasts equally.

In this day where it has become harder and harder to turn to present music for spirituality, where an artist's achievement is measured by the appeal of his recordings to mainstream audiences and where the standard channels just don't provide the right material to quench my thirst of music; digging into the treasures of the past seems to me like the best way to escape from the surrounding musical boredom and to feed my soul the nutrients it begs for.

The first track you will hear is by Hal Singer, an American sax soloist who settled in Paris during the 1960's. In 1974, assisted by the "crême de la crême" of French Modern Jazz instrumentalists (Jef Gilson, Bernard Lubat, Jacky Samson), he recorded the Album "Soul of Africa". A ground-breaking piece of spiritual jazz, among which the track "Garvey's Strut" with probably one of the coolest bass lines ever laid on wax.

The following is the critically acclaimed oriental jazz piece "Gol-e Gandom", by Dr. Lloyd Miller, who spent years in Eastern countries and playing jazz in Europe. So strong was passion for Persian culture and music, Miller hosted his own prime-time main network jazz show on NIR-TV in Tehran.

...

Tracklist is:

1. Hal Singer and Jef Gilson - Garvey's Strut, 1974
2. Lloyd Miller - Gol-e Gandom, 1967
3. Alice Coltrane - Blue Nile, 1970
4. The Jef Gilson Nonet - I.A.M., 1966
5. Alain Goraguer - Promenades Au Bois, 1964
6. Edison Machado - So Por Amor, 1963
7. Joki Freund - HL 20, 1963
8. Nathan Davis - The Flute In The Blues, 1965
9. Shamek Farrah - First Impressions, 1974
10. Cliff Jordan - Ouagadougou, 1972
11. Shahib Shihab & The Danish Radio Group - The Crosseyed Cat, 1965
12. Meirelles e Os Copa 5 - Solo, 1965

Download this beautiful collection of rare and spiritualizing music

And please leave a comment if you enjoy it;)

Prayve's Funky Soul Jazz

Hi everybody! I'm back this time with a new selection of finely matured soul jazz tracks, which just seem to have just gotten better with age!

In the late fifties and early sixties, hard bob jazz started incorporating strong blues, gospel and rhythm and blues influences. With a very rhythmic-heavy backbone, and solid solo musicianship, the grooves started getting tighter and more and more funky. This eventually evolved into the advent of jazz funk, with the later appearance of the synthesizer.

Soul Jazz ensembles were often smaller, favoring trios and quartets over the typical jazz quintet or sextet; and often featured the famed Hammond organ.

This comp starts out with a massive joint, "Book of Slim" by Gene Harris & the 3 Sounds; which was notoriously sampled by Madlib in "Shades of Slim", the opener of his Shades of Blue album. Super tight drum and bass lines with very jazzy piano riffs, along with beautiful strings arrangements.

Stanley Turrentine's cover of Dusty Springfield's "Spooky" is another killer, and was never released until recently in a Blue Note unreleased series.

Grant Green's "Sookie Sookie" from his classic 1970 Blue Note "Alive" was sampled in 1993 by jazz-rap group US3 for the song "Tukka yoot's riddim". Green's original soul jazz version is a 10 minute dance-floor killer, showcasing insanely good guitar, sax and organ solos.

Then comes Monty Alexander's cover of Al Green's "Love and Hapiness" from the album "Rass!". Monty Alexander was born in Kingston, and this album was recorded with Ernest Ranglin, the legendary guitarist who recorded many of Ska and Reggae's seminal albums. "Love and Hapiness" oozes with cool mellow guitar riffs, a blend of jazz and reggae beats and elctric piano grooves. Absolute dope - Guaranteed by your dealer (me)!

Other gems here include some incredibly soulful jams by harpist Dorothy Ashby; keyboardists Eddie Russ, Junior Mance, Lonnie Smith, Reuben Wilson, Les McCann and Billy Larkin; an amazingly cool version of the Jackson Five's "I want you back" by vibe legend Cal Tjader; and some spectacular tenor sax work by Curtis Amy and Gene Ammons.

Gene Ammons is responsible for the track "Jungle Strut". And Wow!!!! What a cut!!! A HUGE, super soulful, yet dark and hypnotysing, piece of groove, featuring Bernard Purdie on Drums. Good luck not getting your mind blown away...

Other favorites of mine on this compilation: Junior Mance "Don't Cha Hear Me Callin' To Ya"... serious breaks and soul in this bomb; Billy Larkin & the Delegates "Pygmy": latin flavored soul jazz, with great percussion and organ drive!

Finally, we close out with a couple of Lalo Schifrin-penned soundtrack material. First with the haunting "Hunt Down" for the film "Mannix", then with "The Danube Incident" from the second "Mission Impossible" soundrack, sampled by Portishead on "Sour Times".

The last track is the treasured "Ripped Open By Metal Explosions". A classic piece of soulful darkness by Galt McDermot, with Idris Muhammad on drums.

Complete tracklist is:

1. Gene Harris & The 3 Sounds - Book of Slim, 1968
2. Stanley Turrentine - Spooky, 1968
3. Grant Green - Sookie Sookie, 1970
4. Gian Franco Pienzio - Grigio Perla, 1973
5. Dorothy Ashby - Soul Vibrations, 1968
6. Monty Alexander - Love And Happiness, 1974
7. Eddie Russ - Watergate Blues, 1974
8. Curtis Amy - Mustang, 1969
9. Billy Larkin & the Delegates - Pygmy, 1964
10. Cal Tjader - I Want You Back, 1973
11. Junior Mance - Don't Cha Hear Me Callin' To Ya, 1970
12. Reuben Wilson - Knock On Wood, 1969
13. Les McCann - Shamading, 1972
14. Lalo Schifrin - Hunt Down, 1966
15. Lonnie Smith - I Feel The Earth Move, 1971
16. Gene Ammons - Jungle Strut, 1970
17. Lalo Schifrin - The Danube Incident, 1969
18. Galt McDermot - Ripped Open By Metal Explosions, 1970

Download now and get your soul jazzed-up!

Prayve's Jazz Funk Fusion

JAZZ FUNK... More Jazz Funk!!! Total grooviness, bouncing funk beats, plus very solid jazz musicianship all the way. That's what you're getting on this one.

Starts off with Herbie Hancock's "Bring Down The Birds" from the 1966 film "The Blowup". You'll immediately recognize the insane bass line from Dee Lite's "Groove is in the Heart"... Then some more from Abba's session guitarist Janne Schaffer. First with the band Svenska Löd Ab! and a very tight session from the album "Hôrselmat", an absolute rarity and collector's Holy Grail - then with the track "Dr. Abraham", from his second solo album.

Roy Porter's track entitled "Panama" with its thumping bass line, hypnotic Fender Rhodes, stellar horn and flute arrangements is a Jazz-funk classic masterpiece. A pure gem that won't stop haunting you.

Quinteplus is another rare jazz collector's favorite. A killer set by funky instrumentalists from Buenos Aires, with wonderful keyboards and sharp drum beats. The track "El Pasito de Nano" is an absolute winner... Marc Moulin's Placebo is next, and needs not be introduced any further. Outstanding funky jazz from Belgium, highly sought-after and sample-packed. "Only Nineteen" is another example of fine keyboard and horn savoir-faire.

You'll also hear some great instrumental jazz funk from Brazil, with Antonio Adolfo, Azymuth and Banda Black Rio, all of which were featured on previous posts on this blog. "Mr Funky Samba" is a timeless piece of Brazilian music. It's whatever you want to call it: samba funk, soul samba, funky samba... heavy electric bass and funky Fender Rhodes with stabbing horn sections and a strong jazz influence.

The great Dennis Coffey is also featured here, with "Scorpio". One of the most sampled track in history with its staggering 2:20 minute open break beat! Doesn't get any funkier than this...

Then come the Frenchies. Jean-Claude Pelletier, with an extract of his album "Streaking". Some of the best groovy funk ever recorded in France. Super heavy and very rare stuff... Then, Les Wanted with "Six, Quatre, Nous". Another PURE jewel, directed by Francois Rolland and Jean-Claude Pierric; "Mister J.", by the legendary Cortex from their second album "Vol.2", for all you Fender Rhodes lovers out there; "Old Timmy" by Schifters, aka. Jacky Giordano & Yan Treger; "Black Sweat" by the cult funk ensemble Chute Libre; "Clavinet Shit" by Ceccarelli, Chantereau, Padovan & Pezin. The name of the song speaks for itself; and finally "So be it" by Airto Fogo. This is basically the Funk DREAM TEAM from France (Cocorico!).

Classics to wrap up. U.S. Classics. The J.B.'s "Blow your head" will definitely fulfill the promise. Powerfull Moog driven madness from Fred Wesley's crew ; and finally the Blackbyrds' theme... Dig that!

Click on the image below to see the album art for all of tracks in this compilation:


Tracklist is:

01. Herbie Hancock - Bring Down The Birds, 1966
02. Svenska Löd Ab! - Va Då Rå - Va E', Reö, 1971
03. Roy Porter - Panama 1, 1975
04. Quinteplus - El Pasito De Nano, 1972
05. Placebo - Only Nineteen, 1973
06. Ray Bryant - Cool Struttin', 1974
07. Antonio Adolfo - Diana e Paulo, 1979
08. Azymuth - A Caça, 1977
09. Banda Black Rio - Mr. Funky Samba, 1977
10. Janne Schaffer - Dr. Abraham, 1974
11. Dennis Coffey - Scoprio, 1971
12. Jean-Claude Pelletier & Orchestra - To Streak With Devil, 1974
13. Les Wanted - Six, Quatre, Nous, 1975
14. Cortex - Mister J., 1977
16. Chutte Libre - Black Sweat, 1977
16. Schifters - Old Timmy, 1974
17. C.C.P.P. (Ceccarelli, Chantereau, Padovan, Pezin) - Clavinet shit, 1975
18. Airto Fogo - So be it, 1976
19. The J.B.'s - Blow Your Head, 1974
20. The Blackbyrds - Blackbyrds' Theme, 1974

Get your jazz funked up right here, right now!

Classic Soul Samples

Here's a compilation I've been wanting to put together for a while. Having listened to a lot of hip-hop growing up, I've always been fascinated by the use of sampling, and how looping a few seconds of an original song, speeding and chopping up a breakbeat or a bassline, could create an entirely new song. Of course, most of the best beats created were made using classic soul and Rn'B samples, so I've tried here to pull together a selection of the best original tracks -- that were or were not hits in their time -- hoping you'll say to yourself "Oh, this is where they took that from!" when you play them.

Mostly, these are all excellent stand-alone Soul gems, which just need to be rediscovered.

First come is Joe Cocker's "Woman to woman" from his 1972 album called... "Joe Cocker". Pure funky soul groove, with an instantly recognizable piano & horn riff, borrowed in 1996 by Tupac for his #1 "California Love". This original version is just as much a party bomb as Tupac's... The second track, the Delfonics' "Ready or not, here I come" is also an instant catch. Sheer soulfulness from 1969, which inspired the Fugees to create a groundbreaking hit on their 1996 album "The Score".

The next track is even more grasping. Camille Yarbrough's "Take yo praise" from 1975. A beautiful gospel/spoken word/funk tune sampled by Fatboy Slim in 1998 for his hit "Praise You". Then come Syl Johnson "I hate I walked away", sampled by IAM on the album "L'école du micro d'argent", Ann Peebles "Troubles, heartaches & Sadness" sampled by the Wu Tang. Both Johnson and Peebles recorded on the soul label "HI" in the early 70s, and mostly evolved in Al Green's shadow, as he was the most famous act signed on Hi Records.

Then? Joe Simon. "Before the night is over". Just listen to the opening verse a couple of times and you'll recognize Outkast's "So fresh & so clean". This another HUGE Funky Soul piece, with a thumping bass and great wah guitar licks. Following is Bill Wither's "Grandma's Hand", the opening humming and guitar chords from which were sampled by Dr Dré for Black Street's "No Diggity" in 1996.

Another favorite in the selection is "All your goodies are gone" by Parliament, from the "Up for the downstroke" album. Mystical and spiritual soul funk, with a massively sampled opening break. Just brilliant! ~ And then... you'll need just a couple of seconds to recognize the huge sample taken from the Chi-lites "Are You My Woman? (Tell Me So)". MASSIVE boogie soul funk...

Then comes an amazing piece. An legendary bit of jazzy soul, by an obscure soul singer from Milwaukee called Penny Goodwin. Arranged by the genius Richard Evans, with a strong Chicago soul feel. "Soon you're old" starts in a quite mellow mood and picks up at about half time, rising to a jazz funk climax of strings, Fender Rhodes, massive wah guitar and percussions, aerial flute groove and a frantic bass line. Need I say more? Absolute winner track!

Next is "As long as I've got you", from another obscure Soul outfit called the Charmells. The opening piano & drum break was used on the Wu Tang's "C.R.E.A.M.". A classic production by RZA, and one of the defining moments in hip-hop history, if you want my opinion.

Other standout tracks include: "I Want'a Do Something Freaky To You" by Leon Haywood, sampled by Dre on ""Nuthin But A G Thang"; and "Never Gonna Stop" by Linda Clifford sampled by Tupac on "All Eyez on Me"

Tracklist is:

01. Joe Cocker - Woman To Woman, 1972
02. The Delfonics - Ready Or Not, Here I Come, 1969
03. Camille Yarbrough - Take Yo Praise, 1975
04. Syl Johnson - I Hate I Walked Away, 1973
05. Ann Peebles - Trouble, Heartaches & Sadness, 1972
06. Gwen McCrae - I've got nothing to lose, 1976
07. Joe Simon - Before The Night Is Over, 1977
08. Bill Withers - Grandmas Hands, 1971
09. The Detroit Emeralds - Let Me Take You In My Arms, 1972
10. Parliament - All Your Goodies Are Gone, 1974
11. The Chi-Lites Are You My Woman (Tell Me So), 1971
12. Penny Goodwin - Too Soon You're Old, 1974
13. The Charmels - As Long as I've Got You, 1967
14. The Dramatics - In The Rain, 1972
15. Clarence Reid - Living Together Is Keeping Us Apart, 1973
16. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Ain't No Love In The Heart of the, 1974
17. O.V. Wright - Let's Straighten It Out, 1978
18. Leon Haywood - I Want'a Do Something Freaky To You, 1975
19. Linda Clifford - Never gonna stop, 1979
20. The Isley Brothers - Between the Sheets, 1983

Get it here!

Freakbeat & Jerk Grooves - Made in France

I'm back with some more ultra groovy music from the late sixties -early seventies period with this selection of Freakbeat and Jerk masterpieces "à la Française".

Whether they come from Library records, film & T.V. soundtracks, or studio albums, the party bombs in this selection are all drenched with great drum breaks, speedy bass lines, psychedelic fuzz guitars and crazy mod Hammond organ solos.

Francis Lai kicks it off with the heavy instrumental funk chaser called "St Tropez" composed for Brigitte Bardot's album "the Brigitte Bardot Show". He is followed by the Hammond organ driven "Audition" by François de Roubaix, from the soundtrack for "L'homme orchestre" with Louis de Funès.

Michel Legrand's "Mi, sol, mi, mi, ré, ré, mi" comes out of the soundtrack for the film "La Dame Dans l'Auto Avec des Lunettes et un Fusil" and blends together jazz, jerk, pop, and mod elements. Legrand at the very top of his 60s cinematographic composing.

George Rodi is next with the brilliant mid tempo instrumental jazz jerk "Stercok" from the original soundtrack for the TV movie "Arsène Lupin". Francis Lai is featured again, with Nicole Croisille this time on the track "I don't know why" from the soundtrack for the film "La Leçon Particulière".

The groove bomb that follows next, "No no, yes yes" was composed by Michel Colombier and Serge Gainsbourg, for the film "Mr Freedom". The original record is extremely rare and pricey, and is one of the greatest late 60's French Freakbeat recordings, in a kind of "Aretha Franklin & Janis Joplin meet super killer organ player & the funky drummer" style.

Dany Maurice with his crazy "Hoodlum's Parade Jerk" and Michel Bernholc "Chevauchée Fantastique" follow with fast, car-chase like, wicked vibes. Then, often-featured on this blog, comes Bernard Estardy, the super talented organist behind Nino Ferrer's "Metronomie" and the cult "La Formule du Baron" with the delirious "Autoscopie". A baroque symphonic swirl of organ, harpsichord and piano.

Legrand again, with "Soirée Jerk chez les Dumonceau", soundtrack for the Jean Becker film "Tendre Voyou" with Michel Belmondo. The next track "Patrick Jerk" by Les Pros, was released on a promotional EP for a kids and teens clothing company called Boum Bomo. The song features some great fuzz guitar and just seams to stick in your head!

Other highlights in this compilation include : "Take One" by the Golden Pot, a fantastic jerk piece that was the theme from the Campus radio station show, pure instrumental psych-funk jerk madness ; Georges Garvarentz's psychedelic sitar groovy score for the film "Sapho" ; Jack Arel & Pierre Dutour's hundred-mile-an-hour "Following you" which is almost as fast as Bernard Lubat's "Crazy Organ" (the name speaks for itself).

Also included are the fantastic substance-infused "Freak" from Nino Ferrer's album Metronomie; the huge breakbeat jerk "Strip Poker at Caesar's Palace" by David Whitaker and the trippy organ score by Claude Bolling for the film "Doucement les Basses"

Click on the image below to see the album art for all of tracks in this compilation:

Tracklist is:

01. Brigitte Bardot & Francis Lai - St Tropez, 1968
02. François de Roubaix - Audition, 1970
03. Michel Legrand - Mi, Sol, Mi, Mi, Re, Re, Mi, 1970
04. Georges Raudi et son Orchestre - Stercok, 1970
05. Francis Lai & Nicole Croisille - I don't know why, 1968
06. Serge Gainsbourg & Michel Colombier - Mister Freedom - No no, yes yes, 1969
07. Dany Maurice et son Orchestre - Hoodlum's Parade Jerk, 1971
08. Michel Bernholc - Chevauchee Fantastique, 1976
09. Bernard Estardy - Autoscopie, 1967
10. Michel Legrand - Soiree jerk chez les Dumonceau, 1966
11. Les Pros - Patrick Jerk, 1966
12. Ben & the Platano Group - Castill Battle, 1971
13. The Golden Pot - Take One, 1968
14. Georges Garvarentz - Nues dans l'eau, 1970
15. Jack Arel & Pierre Dutour - Following You, 1974
16. Nino Ferrer - Freak, 1971
17. Bernard Lubat - Crazy Organ, 1975
18. David Whitaker - Strip Poker at Caesar's Palace, 1966
19. Vladimir Cosma - Cool Pool, 1970
20. Claude Bolling - Générique Fin (happy night), 1970

Get it here (and don't forget to comment!)

Prayve's Blaxploitation Bombs

I've been wanting to make a compilation of Blaxploitation tracks for a while... here it is!
I looked as deep as I could to uncover some of the rarest and most fantastic epic car chase jams and kung-fu-esque beats. No Shaft or Superfly on this one, but some amazing tunes by some of the genre's greatest!

Curtis Mayfield, James Brown and Marvin Gaye haven't been forgotten of course, but you'll also run into to some much harder to come across gems. First of which: the main theme for "Black Belt Jones" the soundtrack to the classic kung-fu/blaxploitation movie starring bad-boy Jim 'Dragon' Kelly and Gloria Hendry. Composed by Dennis Coffey and Luchi de Jesus, with some serious scat backing vocals and lush string and horn arrangements...

Harlem Underground's "Smoking Cheeba Cheeba" is another monster groover, from a band we know very little of. The cover of the record states that George Benson was part of line-up, which has yet to be proven. Often sampled killer tripped-out funky $hit from 1976!

You'll also hear a great cover of Gil Scott Heron's "Home is where the hatred is" by Ester Phillips, and the incredible break beat DJ favorite "Funky Mule" by Ike Turner.
Among the tracks that actually were film soundtracks, we have: Quincy Jones' main theme for "They Call Me Mr. Tibbs", James Brown's track "the Boss" for the movie "Black Caesar" and his theme for "Slaughter's Big Rip Off" and Marvin Gaye's "T Plays it Cool" from the movie "Trouble Man".

Some Europeans are also featured here: Franco Micalizzi "L'Italia A Mano Armata", a huge horn driven poiice movie theme, was recently featured in Tarantino's movie "Death Proof" for the final car chase! Also from Europe, Tony Barthele recorded for the French Library Label "Patchwork", and Memphis Black was just a stage name for a German organ player called Ingfried Hoffmann. His heavy drum break/ organ tune BOMB "Why Don't You Play The Organ, Man" is totally in the blaxploitation feel and deserves being featured here.

Other great tracks featured here include Roy Ayers "He's a Superstar", Gil Scott Heron & Brian Jackson's "Ain't No Such Thing As Superman", 9th Creation "Learn-N to Live", 24 Carat Black's "Ghetto Misfortune's Wealth" and Donald Byrd's "Stepping into Tomorrow". Unfortunately Isaac Hayes was left out of this one, due to some pretty fierce competition, let's say this post is dedicated to his memory. ENJOY!

Tracklist is:

01. Dennis Coffey & Luchi de Jesus - Black Belt Jones Theme, 1974
02. Ike Turner & His Kings of Rhythm - Funky Mule, 1969
03. Esther Phillips - Home Is Where The Hatred Is, 1971
04. James Brown - The Boss, 1973
05. Quincy Jones - They Call Me Mister Tibbs, 1970
06. Curtis Mayfield - (Don't Worry) If There's A Hell Below We're All Going To Go, 1970
07. Marlena Shaw - Woman of the Ghetto, 1969
08. Marvin Gaye - You're the Man, 1972
09. Harlem Underground Band - Smokin Cheeba Cheeba, 1976
10. James Brown - Slaughter's Theme, 1973
11. Roy Ayers - He's a Superstar, 1972
12. Gil Scott Heron - Ain't no Such Thing As Superman, 1974
13. 9th Creation - Learn-N-To Live, 1975
14. Franco Micalizzi - Italia a Mano Armata, 1976
15. 24 Carat Black - Ghetto Misfortune's Wealth, 1973
17. Tony Barthele - Harlem Bass, 1974
18. Memphis Black - Why Don't You Play The Organ, Man, 1969
19. Marvin Gaye - T Plays it Cool, 1972
20. Donald Byrd - Stepping Into Tomorrow, 1975


Get your blaxploitation fix here